. that was the moment in 1992 then president george h.w. bush looked at his watch during the debate with bill clinton and ross perot. want to talk to dean, a stand-up comedian, writer, and, of course, contributor. dean, you know performing. you have studied these two guys. you write in your blog the candidates who are funny in the debates tend to get elected. what do you think? either one of these guys going to get a laugh? >> i think they're going to try. i'll be honest with you. let's be honest, you don't need a political consultant to tell you, if you make people laugh, you're creating a bomb with them. you're getting an organic disorderly action. they're laughing and they're feeling more warm to you, and i think it's a thing that's overlooked by mft candidates. i think look at ronald reagan's joke. classic. he used it. he destroyed an issue and made himself more likable at the same time. >> do they need to go in with a strategy to be funny, because sometimes when you plan these things and you bomb, it looks even worse. >> i can tell you, i have told many jokes that have bombed in my career. i can